'We need to deal honestly with the past': Regina Archdiocese apologizes for role in residential schools
The Archdiocese of Regina has issued an apology for its role in residential schools and committed to fulfilling its “moral obligation” by supporting Indigenous communities as they work to search the sites of former schools.
In a statement shared on the Archdiocese website, it said it operated the Marieval Indian Residential School on the Cowessess First Nation, the Lebret Indian Industrial Residential School on the White Calf First Nation, the Muscowequan Residential School on the Muskowekwan First Nation, and the St. Philip’s Residential School on the Keeseekoose First Nation.
“We are profoundly sorry for the hurt that actions and decisions of our church in the past have caused to Indigenous Peoples and in ways that we presently re-traumatize by our actions and inactions,” Donald Bolen, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Regina said in the statement. “We have heard and acknowledged that apologies are not an endpoint but a starting point, and are learning how to walk in solidarity.”
The apology follows growing demands from Indigenous communities and allies to search the sites of former residential schools, after the discovery of 215 children found buried in unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.
The statement acknowledged the 35 unmarked graves discovered at the site of the Muscowequan Residential School, and identified the need to search the other schools run by the Regina Archdiocese.
“There are cemeteries at these schools as well,” Bolen said.
SOME SAY APOLOGY IS ‘HARD TO ACCEPT’
Some Indigenous organizations said the apology is hard to accept because the impact of past decisions continue today.
"So when you're reading in the paper about gang murders, when you are reading Indigenous young people committing suicide, families with domestic violence, these are all impacts today. It's not happening in the past. So it's hard to accept the apology that says it happened in the past when things are still going on in the present," Delora Parisian, executive director at Eagle Heart Centre, said.
The Eagle Heart Centre helps about 500 families that have been impacted by residential schools in some way. Parisian says the centre has received a lot of calls from people who want to talk to someone after the 215 children were found at the Kamloops residential school.
Parisian said the Catholic system is something that may need to be rethought.
"Maybe that needs to be under review. Is it working for our people? Certainly not. Is it working for all the children that were abused under that priesthood?" she said. "It's a harsh statement to make, but so is finding 215 children buried in unnamed graves."
Margaret Kisikawpiyesis, CEO of CAAN – an organization that assists Indigenous people living with HIV/AIDS and other transmissible diseases – believes the Archdiocese needs to reconcile by itself.
"It's time the churches sit back and (realize) they no longer control us. They no longer are a part of our solution – they can't be – but they can deal with their own truth and reconciliation that has to happen for their institution to be able to move forward," Kisikawpiyesis said.
Kisikawpiyesis's father attended Gordon's Residential School in Punnichy, Saskatchewan for three years and was sexually abused repeatedly. She wonders if the people who were involved in these acts will take responsibility for their actions.
"Some of the priests and nuns that were a part of the sexual abuse and the abuse that went on at these schools are still alive. Are they answering to what they did to the children?” Kisikawpiyesis said.
"Within our own ways as Indigenous people, if you took a life, you have to answer to that."
Kisikawpiyesis said she hopes that Indigenous people can start to heal and teach their children the languages, Indigenous laws and other teachings that were destroyed through the residential school system.
"It's important that we keep talking about it and remembering what has happened on this land. Canada has wronged (Indigenous people), churches have wronged Indigenous people, so we need to make things right."
EXPERIENCE AT LEBRET RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL
Fred Gordon attended Lebret Indian Industrial Residential School from 1944 to 1951. Gordon says he was kidnapped when he was nine years old and taken to the school.
During his experience at the school, Gordon said he spent his time "living in fear."
Gordon says he was sexually abused by a nun while at Lebret, and was left deaf in one ear and blind in his left eye because of the abuse he endured.
"I used to have to run away during the night to get away from that nun," he said.
Gordon said he saw "terrible things" while at the school.
"There was a father, Father Roberto, you looked in that priest's eyes and you saw nothing, there was no emotion, no nothing there," Gordon said. "And he used to come into the dormitories... and I'd see him take a kid out to go and abuse him somewhere in the school."
He added that the school was across the lake from a seminary and that it was "common practice" for the priests to come over and abuse the children.
If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.
With files from CTVNews.ca's Brooklyn Neustaeter.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.